After two nights of ceremonies, nine categories at Cannes have been judged and suddenly we’re halfway through the festival.
As the categories continue to fragment, so the lines between them continue to blur. This was well expressed by the Outdoor Jury President last night when he said the vast range of work was what made judging exciting. Everything from a poster to an event or a filmed activation qualifies.
Juries at Cannes have always awarded cause related work. That trend is only getting stronger and every second winner was either work for a social cause or for a brand that’s effecting social change.
With the Glass Lion introduced by Cindy Gallup at last night’s ceremony, it’s clear that work that targets issues of gender inequality will be big going forward.
True to many a prediction #Likeagirl is turning into a huge winner, awarded Golds in Promo, Direct, Media and PR, where it also won the Grand Prix.
Vodafone’s Redlight Application, a Grand Prix winner in Media turns technology into a force for good to help women that are victims of domestic violence. Optus’ ‘Clever Buoy’ uses tech to create an early shark warning system for bathers. Innovation is also at the heart of the Grand Prix winning idea for Promo and Activation, which went to Volvo’s LifePaint.
Volvo scooped another Grand Prix for ‘Interception’. Ambushing the car brands that juke it out for share of voice on TV during Superbowl Sunday, they used competitive car brands strength in this traditional medium against them. As simple and effective as a well timed judo throw.
A very popular winner was Nazi’s against Nazi’s for Exit Deutschland. Flipping the idea of a march on its head, a bunch of very sheepish looking Neo-nazi’s found themselves in ‘the world’s first involuntary march’.
Check out Samsung ‘Samsung Safety Truck’, ‘The Marathon Walker’ and ‘Security Moms’ for other great ideas that come from simple and powerful insights.
So far SA has a clutch of bronzes, two of them from Ogilvy Cape Town. One for Terminal Velocity in Outdoor and one for Gloo@Ogilvy’s FNB ATM campaign in Media. Well done to all concerned.
Let’s hope Radio, a traditional stronghold for SA, comes through for us tonight.